Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

[Pay and Muster roll with wages for former slaves]

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC08912 Author/Creator: Place Written: St. Charles Parish, Louisiana Type: Manuscript document Date: May 1864 Pagination: 2 p. : Height: 69 cm, Width: 39.5 cm Order a Copy

Lists approximately 100 freedmen by name on the "Mdme. Rosts Hermitage Plantation, Parish St. Charles," Louisiana, who were under the charge of Federal officer Henry B. Fitch. Next to their names are their ages and wages. In some cases there are notes next to the entries; one is listed as a "Suckler" and one with "Child sick -deduct rations." The plantation was that of Pierre Adolphe Rost (1797-1868), a French immigrant, Louisiana judge, and Confederate diplomat. The Union army had seized the plantation while the Rosts were in Europe, and transformed it into a work colony where freedmen could learn trades. The Rosts reclaimed their home after the Civil War.

Rost, Pierre Adolphe, fl. 1864

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources